The global pandemic has had an effect not only on our individual lives but on the big sectors and country economies first of all. The pandemic has left us speechless and alternatives, which turned out to be a harder challenge for all of us. The COVID-19 challenged businesses and private as well as public sectors, and we are still waiting for some answers and actions. 

The economy is shaken and the crisis is ongoing. The pandemic is still going on, and while the vaccine definitely gave us a bit of hope, it still seems to be quite far away and leaves us with multiple questions. The vaccine improved the economic and moral situation of the whole world, but we are still here to see some effects. 

Because of the highly contagious nature of the virus, people are asked and even forced to stay home and keep a social distance. The face masks have become our most vital accessory and the hand sanitizer bottles are the new essentials of our bags and pockets. The pandemic is still here to set its own rules, and while we know that we have to deal with it, no certain tool is vibrant on the horizon. 

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The biggest survivors 

People have lost their jobs globally and the health care institutions are highly under pressure. Some countries held it better, while others did not. Some countries were able to quickly adapt to the situation, while others are still struggling to find the right guideline to follow. As the observations and reality have shown us, the developed countries handled it a lot better than the developing ones. 

The perfect example can be Norway. While the country and people are having a difficult time and the second wave even now, the overall situation is still way more positive than some other Eastern countries. Scandinavia is always performing with some of the best results. 

Though just like in every other country, due to the pandemic in Norway social problems still are on the frontline. The majority of the businesses are closed for now, and the permanent closure is only a matter of time. Thus, people are unemployed, and businesses bankrupt. The businesses which managed to survive were the ones who adapted to the COVID pandemic style and moved online. There are not a lot of them, especially considering the fact that retail businesses were sinking in the country just any way, it did not get better with the pandemic. 

On the other hand, online gambling, which is definitely not favored by country officials, is slightly getting more and more noticed. With only two legal regulated gambling operators in the country, the online casino players still manage to be actively involved and entertain themselves without being able to leave their homes. The statistics on the Gratis-spinn.com, show an increased amount of online gamblers during the past year than ever fixed before. 

Some experts remain skeptical about the topic, saying that increased interest in the online gambling industry can lead to the extensive expenses of unemployed people or additional gambling problems. Though, as we now all see, Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent financial market upheaval had shown the importance of a diverse portfolio.

Diversification is the new black 

According to research and observation, the pandemic has shown that the more diversified is the country's portfolio in terms of income, the better it managed to survive the pandemic. Which is very logical. As out of the thousands of ways of income, the chance of losing them all is relatively less than the chance of losing income with only two or three massive sources of income. 

The Fund, which invests revenue from Norway's oil, holds a stake in around 9,000 companies and owns around 1.5% of all globally listed shares as well as fixed-income and real estate. The number is obviously impressive and the income is good, this still remains one of the biggest shares of the total revenue of the country. 

The central bank of Norway did not stay silent about the situation and said that some markets, sectors, and segments have recovered rapidly, while others have not. This is mainly due to the importance of being well-diversified. The Finance minister of the country also underlined the importance of the diversification of the economy following the next year. 

It was also mentioned that it is of key importance to understand the drivers behind the different returns and especially whether these differences can be expected to persist or not. We have all witnessed some major changes in the economy, with the stocks falling sharply earlier in 2020 with the first outbreak of the Coronavirus. During this time, the fund's bond portfolio surged in value, before a reversal towards the end of 2020. The fund’s physical real estate portfolio, which is allowed to represent up to 7% of investments, also saw changes.

The final word

Some tendencies were already noticed in the Norwegian economy. The tendencies such as lack of the popularity of the retail businesses and the increased popularity in the logistic sector have remained the same even after the virus outbreak. Though, these trends have all intensified during the pandemic. 

Office properties, already trending towards less space per worker in recent years, had seen a rise in working from home, but also to an increase in the space required per worker. Some of the big cities were hit especially hard. Because of the limited movement and gathering opportunities, fewer projects have taken off and fewer initiatives were made. Though, some of the great projects were started as well, which could hit the supply of new properties in two to three years.